University blew £16,000 on portrait of pay row academic: Student anger at oil painting of £468,000 vice-chancellor forced to resign over salary scandal

• Professor Dame Glynis Breakwell, 66, resigned from Bath University last year 
• The painting was unveiled by the Earl of Wessex in a £750 ceremony in February
• The President of the Students’ Union said the expenditure was ‘a huge insult’ 

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A university that made its vice-chancellor the highest paid in the country spent more than £16,000 on a portrait of her.

Professor Dame Glynis Breakwell, 66, resigned from the University of Bath last year following an outcry over her £468,000 pay package.

It has now been revealed the university spent £16,398 on a framed oil painting of the academic.  

The University of Bath forked out £16,000 for an oil painting of their ex-vice chancellor Professor Dame Glynis Breakwell (pictured with university chancellor the Earl of Wessex)

The painting was unveiled by the Earl of Wessex on February 25, in a ceremony that cost the university £750.

An accompanying plaque cost an additional £462, according to a freedom of information request.

Students were outraged at the cost of the artwork, which has since been removed from its place alongside other paintings of former vice-chancellors. 

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Eve Alcock, the president of Bath Students’ Union, condemned the expenditure as ‘a huge insult to the students’.

She told The Times: ‘In a climate where we’re lobbying for more money for mental health and well-being initiatives or bursaries and financial support, this news comes as a huge insult to the students.

‘It highlights just how much governance reform was needed, because this was signed off between a small group of people with no check or balance.

The portrait was painted by artist Joshua Waterhouse and was unveiled by Price Edward in a ceremony costing another £750

‘When you start to think about what sorts of things more than £16,000 could pay for to benefit students and their university experience, it is frustrating that the money was used on this.’

Joshua Waterhouse, who painted the portrait, declined to comment. Dame Glynis received an annual salary of £468,000, a £31,489 interest free loan for a car and rent-free accommodation in a £1.6million Georgian townhouse.

She was a member of the remuneration committee that since 2011 had bumped up her pay by almost £200,000 in five years.

There was widespread outrage after it was revealed she claimed £20,000 in expenses in 2017, including biscuits worth £2. 

After resigning in August last year, she was granted a sabbatical on full pay before she retired in February. 

A university spokesman said: ‘Portraits have been commissioned for all previous vice-chancellors… to mark their contribution.’ 

There was widespread outrage after it was revealed Dame Glynis claimed £20,000 in expenses in 2017, including biscuits worth £2

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